Mitra Samaj — Restaurant in Karnataka

When you crave for a Masala Dosa or fluffy soft idlis that melt in your mouth, your thoughts are invariably drawn towards an Udipi Joint … where ever you are, from Memphis to Matunga OR Melbourne to Munirka! And here, be it Matunga or Munirka, the moment you occupy the table, a hyper yet skinny fellow will arrive the next second, wipes your table, greets you with a glass of cold water and rattles down the menu of the day (despite knowing secretly what you may want to gorge on) scrawls down your order and vamooses in under 3 minutes from the time you have taken your tashreef 😉

Post this exercise a predictable chain of events happen PAN India across all Udipis where ever you are sitting, if you observe with little attention! The waiter will shout out your order in a typical loud way which is heard by the cook in kitchen across the hall in corner & the Supply chain gets activated even before this guy goes and hands over the KOT! By the time the waiter is jotting down his next request, the cook shouts back the first order is ready and when the next KOT is handed over, the first order comes along with it to hand you over your goodies to gorge on! It goes on like clockwork 😲

Now coming to the Restaurant in focus, Mitra Samaj, Udipi. This is the mother of all Udupi Restaurants in India which first started the Udupi tradition of cooking and introduced the famed goodies which Udupi Joints churn out. So it has a history naturally, with its origin of Pre Independence Era, from the famed Holla family which still manages this restaurant. They are pretty orthodox and traditional in their way of cooking with neither onion nor garlic or even radish being used in any of their preparations! They have a moderate space with vintage tables all around which give that touch of authentic origin. They also have matching chairs which kind of complete the old world charm jigsaw! Even their name board dates back to 1950s 😃

Food is absolutely delicious and lip smacking is an understatement. They have range of Udupi specialities like Pine apple Shira, deliciously spicy Upma, Buns, Goli Baje AKA Mangalore Bajji apart from regular fare of dosas and fluffy soft idlis with crispy & tasty vadas with their legendary chutney and delectable sambar to boot. You get to meet, greet and eat all these goodies and trademark filter coffee completes the icing on the cake. They also serve Udupi Meals on the adjacent restaurant of theirs which serves only meals which is Yummazing to say the least 😎

Now you know which is the 2nd most important place to visit after visiting the first in Udupi which is obviously the Krishna Matth. Your job gets easy since Mitra Samaj is just adjacent to Krishna...

We visited this famous eatery in Udupi in February 2018. They are one of the pioneers of Udupi dishes all over India. Mitra Samaj is a pure vegetarian restaurant located close to the Udupi Sri Krishna Temple. It is open from 5.30 am to 9.30 pm, which coincides with the temple timing. We tried their masala dosa, and it was very tasty with their sambar and chutney dips. It is believed that the owners of Mitra Samaj, the Holla family, popularised the masala dosa, a rice pancake fried to a crispy brown and filled with a potato stuffing, and it is now readily available at ‘Udupi’ restaurants spread all over India. Idlis, wadas and dosas have become synonymous with Indian Fast Food, and are competing successfully against the McDonalds , Pizza Huts and KFCs, where vegetarian fast food is concerned. The ambience at Mitra Samaj is not that of a fine dining restaurant, and the service is quite ordinary. It is a place to grab a quick bite and a cup of tea or coffee, make the cash payment at the counter, and run to your place of work or worship. Besides the staples mentioned above Mitra Samaj also have some other popular dishes on their menu. Their ‘goli baje’, upma, pineapple sheera, parottas and Mangalore buns are very popular. They do not use onions and garlic and some other root vegetables in their preparations due to religious reasons. They have another outlet across the road where they serve their unique Udupi style meals for lunch and dinner. Prices are extremely affordable. After enjoying our dosas and savouring their aromatic filter coffee we stepped out satisfied, to visit the Sri Krishna...

After hearing numerous accolades about a this highly praised restaurant, we were eagerly anticipating an extraordinary experience. However, our hopes were shattered when we left feeling utterly disappointed. The food, sadly, turned out to be disappointingly average, failing to meet the lofty expectations that had been set. Furthermore, the worn-out appearance of the waiters added to our disheartenment. The so-called authentic delicacies failed to impress, leaving us questioning their genuineness and quality. Even the simplest offerings like tea and coffee proved to be unsatisfactory, lacking the desired taste and flavor.

In our opinion, it is essential for longstanding establishments to avoid taking their customers for granted. They should continuously strive to maintain their reputation and never compromise on the quality they are known for. It was deeply disheartening to witness such a decline in an establishment that was once highly regarded. We cannot help but express our disappointment, as we had eagerly anticipated an exceptional culinary experience that sadly never materialized.

Given our experience, we wholeheartedly recommend Woodlands, a renowned restaurant known for consistently delivering excellence in both their delectable cuisine and attentive service. Their commitment to providing authentic and flavorsome dishes, along with a warm and welcoming staff, ensures a truly satisfying...